


Arms Unfolding

by whimsicalMedley



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, F/F, Feral Behavior, First Meetings, Love, Marriage, Married Life, No Spoilers, Possessive Behavior, Romance, Scenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24225994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicalMedley/pseuds/whimsicalMedley
Summary: A story of before and after, and of how a wild magicat gained everything, lost it all, and got it back again.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 24
Kudos: 546





	Arms Unfolding

**Author's Note:**

> HI I'M PERSEPHONE I'M 21 AND I'M A FUCKING _WRECK_
> 
> god just. s5 killed me. i'm dead. i cried so much i got dehydrated. as a lesbian, the ending just meant the world to me because when i was a kid, i thought something was wrong with me. so thank you noelle stevenson, for making something that made me feel seen. thank you so much.
> 
> i wrote this in one go and cried like 3 times.
> 
> title is from a dodie song!
> 
> enjoy!!!

Catra doesn't remember a time before Adora very well. She knew it existed; the Horde had kidnapped her when she was around five. She has vague memories, glimpses of the forest she lived in and the mother she never got to know, and impressions of emotions. Mostly, crushing loneliness.

And then the Horde found her.

* * *

_ She was tired. Her body ached from the beating she received and subsequent fight that she lost. Being dragged along in a net didn't help. _

_ Her mother was long dead when the mean people found her. She had gone out to hunt one day, and she never came back. The girl had to fend for herself after that. It wasn't easy at all. She was still a pup. She was weak. She didn't know how to fight yet. _

_ Luckily, she was also stubborn and resourceful as hell. _

_ By the time the mean people found her, the girl had carved out a place for herself in the forest. The bigger creatures didn't respect her exactly, but they knew attempting to kill her was a lost cause; she was too fast, fought too dirty, learned too quickly to catch anyway. Life wasn't  _ good, _ but it was bearable. So naturally, it went wrong. _

_ The mean people had been tracking her. She didn't understand what they were saying, because humans were stupid and needed to use sounds from their mouths to communicate. They couldn't see or smell what she did. Their senses too dull, their minds too narrow. She hated them already. _

_ They kept glancing at her, and the girl made sure to hiss whenever they came too close. Eventually, they seemed to reach their destination. By this point, the wild girl was covered in dirt and muck, and extremely pissed off. This place was nothing like the forest. It was cold and full of things the girl didn't understand, and it finally dawned on her that she was in big trouble. She could be killed here. She probably would be. _

_ Doubling her efforts to escape, the girl thrashed and scratched with all her might. The mean people seemed to get tired of it, and with an annoyed shout, one of them stuck her with something sharp. The girl yowled, and then her world went dark. _

* * *

_ She woke up later in a cold room with a blanket pulled over her body. She was laying down on something soft, softer than she'd ever felt. People were talking nearby. _

_ The wall opened up, and the girl unsheathed her claws and hissed angrily. A woman in red with a face covered by a mask began talking, and the girl didn't waste any time before pouncing. The woman raised her arms, and the young girl was stopped midair. Eyes widening, she tried to struggle. She couldn't move. _

Magic.

_ A whimper escaped without her permission, and the lady laughed ominously. _

_ "Adora?" _

_ The wall opened again to reveal a child around the girl's age. Her blue eyes were wide with curiosity, and she cocked her head when she saw the girl hovering, blonde ponytail swishing. The girl hissed, and the blonde kid started to step back before her eyes hardened and she steeled herself. _

_ Huh. _

_ The red lady talked with the blonde kid for a bit, and then suddenly, the wild girl was falling to the floor. She waited for the red lady to leave, and as soon as the wall closed, she pounced on the other girl. The blonde blinked in surprise, but otherwise didn't react as she was pushed to the floor. _

_ Hissing and holding her hand above her menacingly, the wild girl prepared to strike, but paused when she smelled the blonde's scent. _

_ She wasn't afraid. _

_ The girl cocked her head to the side then, looking at the blonde in confusion. Why wasn't she scared? Instead of quaking in fear, the blonde actually  _ smiled. _ She was talking now, but the wild girl had no idea what she was saying. The blonde had to know that. All humans were stupid, but this girl seemed to be especially dumb. _

_ Huffing in annoyance, the wild girl climbed off of the blonde and crossed her arms. There wasn't any use if she wasn't afraid. And also…she probably needed a pack to survive this place. The girl thought about the steel in the blonde, how she looked at her wild eyes and sharp teeth and claws and just smiled, right in the face of danger. _

_ Yeah, this girl would be a good pack member to have. _

* * *

_ Ten years later, and the wild girl had a name, a grasp on language, and most importantly, a best friend. _

_ "Catra!" _

_ Catra turned towards the sound of her voice, her best innocent face on display. Adora ran in, freshly showered and face annoyed, but that didn't fool Catra. Her eyes always gave her away, after all. And right now, her eyes were warm. _

_ "Yeah?" Catra asked, smiling guiltlessly. _

_ "Where exactly did my pajamas go?" Adora asked stiffly, and Catra suppressed a smirk. _

_ "Dunno," she replied happily, and Adora rolled her eyes. _

_ "Yes you do. How many times do I have to tell you to stop stealing my stuff?" Adora huffed, but a smile was starting to grow on her face. Catra's smile widened at the sight. _

_ "Guess you'll have to wear mine since you keep losing your stuff," Catra sighed jokingly, and Adora snorted. _

_ "Fine, but your shirts are still too tight on me," she replied. _

_ "Not my fault you have big boobs, Adora," Catra snickered, and Adora, quite predictably, turned a brilliant shade of red. _

_ "Catra!" _

_ Turning away from her best friend, Catra dug into her dresser to pull out a shirt and some pants. Throwing them over her shoulder, Catra waited for the sign that Adora had finally gotten into some clothes and out of the towel she had wrapped around herself. _

_ "I'm good." _

_ Catra turned, and pretended that she didn't feel an immense sense of pride at the sight of Adora in  _ her _ clothes. Adora shook her head with a fond smile, and climbed into bed. _

_ "C'mon dork, we both know I need my favorite space heater to sleep." _

_ Catra groaned in annoyance, but they both knew it was for show. Clambering on, Catra rubbed her face against Adora's neck in lieu of saying goodnight. Adora simply tilted her head upwards to give better access, long used to this. Tonight however, something changed. _

_ When Catra finished, Adora held her in place. Catra made a noise of confusion, but the blonde shushed her. Suddenly, Adora gently headbutted Catra's neck, returning the favor. Catra immediately flushed, and from what she could see, Adora wasn't any better. _

She doesn't know what this means to magicats. She's just being a good friend. That's _ it. _

_ Eventually, Adora stopped and laid down, curling up under the covers. _

_ "Goodnight Catra." _

_ Catra could only blink, shakily laying down next to her. _

_ Adora didn't know that magicats scented each other. She didn't know that what she just did made Catra smell like her. That she was marking Catra as hers, just like Catra had been doing to Adora for  _ years.

_ Adora never mentioned it, the fact that Catra wasn't a human and therefore did some things differently, but Catra knew she was curious. But there was no way in hell that Catra would be telling her what all her gestures meant; giving Adora animals she'd killed, grooming her hair, scenting her, licking her cheek, stealing Adora's clothes so she'd have to use Catra's (which meant Adora would end up smelling like her), growling at anyone who came too close to her.  _ Catra _ knew what she was doing, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. _

_ She was in love with her best friend. _

_ The human programming beaten into Catra's brain cringed at the word "mate," but the magicat she was purred in contentment whenever she thought about it. Adora belonging to Catra, Catra belonging to Adora. The way it was supposed to be. _

_ "I can practically hear you thinking." _

_ Catra jumped, huffing when Adora started to laugh. _

_ "Sorry, sorry. But what's up?" Adora asked quietly, and Catra just shook her head. _

_ "I'll tell you one day, I swear. Just not tonight," Catra whispered, and Adora's brow furrowed, but she nodded. _

_ "I'm holding you to that." _

_ "Just…" Catra inhaled shakily, "promise me that we'll always stick together." _

_ Adora's face softened, and she cupped Catra's cheek. Catra leaned into the touch, tired and past the point of keeping up her tough façade. This was Adora, after all. _

_ "I promise." _

_ And like all good things in Catra's life, it eventually ended. _

* * *

Looking back, Catra usually laughed at her younger self's melodrama.

Well. She cringed too, but mostly laughed.

Five year old Catra was alone. Fifteen year old Catra was in love with her best friend, with no hope of being loved back. Eighteen year old Catra was trying to kill the love of her life because she felt like she had been abandoned.

Twenty three year old Catra was waking up next to her wife, her heart full to bursting.

"Good morning," Adora whispered, smiling softly at Catra, who was pillowed on Adora's bare chest.

"Mornin' sweetheart," Catra replied groggily, relishing in the blush that settled over her wife's cheeks.

Wife.

Her  _ wife. _

Adora seemed to read her thoughts, her face softening and tears turning her eyes shinier than normal.

"Don't cry on me, we cried enough yesterday," Catra laughed softly, cupping her cheek. The diamond in her wedding ring caught on the light.

"At our  _ wedding," _ Adora sniffled, leaning her forehead against Catra's.

"At our wedding," Catra agreed, pretending her voice wasn't going thick with emotion.

"I love you  _ so _ much." At this point, Adora's eyes spilled over, the tears trailing down her face. Catra wiped them away softly, chuckling under her breath.

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> tempted to make this a multi chaptered fic as a bunch of oneshots......tell me what you think 👀
> 
> twitter: [adorkra](https://twitter.com/adorkra?s=09)  
> tumblr: [femme-spinnerella](https://femme-spinnerella.tumblr.com/)


End file.
